Un-schooled. Now I Know: Learn Something New Every Day, By Email | Dan Lewis. J.P. Prezzavento - The Bits and Bytes of Education:: Five Learning Activities to Increase Student Engagement. Student engagement is a topic that is constantly being discussed by teachers, administrators, and parents alike. While all of these stakeholders know what student engagement looks like, it is often times unclear how to get students actively engaged in a lesson. I am going to suggest a variety of activities to increase student engagement in your classroom using both modern technology and traditional classroom instruction. 1 - Jigsaw Activities After reading a story, article, or book, I split students into small groups and assign each group a concept to focus on. After the students have discussed their concept, I split the groups up again so that each group has one member from each original group.
Each student will be responsible for sharing with his or her classmates what was discussed in the first group. The beauty of the Jigsaw Activity is that each student in the classroom is held accountable for disseminating information to other members of the class. 2 - Dialectical Journals. Is Your Child "Learning How to Learn"? Ed Note: Shelley Wright is a high school teacher in Moose Jaw, SK, who has recently been making some significant changes to her teaching in the classroom. The post below first appeared on Wright's blog with The Daily Riff adding bold for emphasis. We find Wright's point-of-view valuable as it relates to how technology is changing the way teachers teach, and how and what students learn. Most of all, we appreciate her openness by sharing her un-learning and re-learning journey in this new world of teaching.
-C.J. "So what is it we need to know? " More Questions Than AnswersShort Video Below by Shelley Wright Our semester is a week away from ending, and I have more questions than answers. In many areas, I've seen a tremendous amount of growth in my students. My students have taken a number of the technology tools they've learned in this class, and are using them for other classes. However, in some areas, there is still a long way to go. Posted The Daily Riff 1/2011. From Passive to Active Learners - Consumers to Creators. What Makes Them Click » Blog Archive » 100 Things You Should Know About People: #49 — The Brain Looks For Simple Patterns - Applying Psychology to Understand How People Think, Work, and Relate.
What do you see when you look at the x’s below? Xx xx xx xx Chances are you will say you see four sets of 2 x’s each. You won’t see them as 8 separate x’s. You interpret the white space, or lack of it, as a pattern. People are great at recognizing patterns – Recognizing patterns helps you make quick sense of all the sensory input that comes to you every second. Individual cells respond to certain shapes – In 1959, two researchers, Hubel and Wiesel showed that there are individual cells in the visual cortex of your brain that respond only to horizontal lines, other cells that respond only to vertical lines, other cells that respond to edges, and cells that respond only to certain angles. You recognize objects by simple shapes – But research now points to the idea that we recognize certain basic shapes in what we are looking at, and we use these basic shapes, called geons, to recognize objects. Take-Aways: What do you think?
And for those of you who like to read the research: Jackie's Young Adults Blog. Graduation Ceremony Survival Monday April 14, 2014 If you've got a high school or college graduation ceremony coming up, it's time to start thinking about packing that survival bag. Sitting in the glorious sunshine for a few minutes is a lovely thing. Sitting under that blazing orb for four hours is a recipe for pomp, circumstance, sunburn and heatstroke. So here's what to pack - sunscreen, of course, but also these nine sanity savers. Plus, perhaps a graduation bingo board or two.
The Lowdown on Dorm Options Saturday April 12, 2014 As parents, we obsess over those housing forms - is it better for junior to opt for a double in the freshman wing or a suite on the special interests floor, the Triton dining package or the basic-plus? This is the month when housing decisions must be made. Dorm Crafts: Luggage Tags Wednesday April 9, 2014 As summer approaches, everyone's thoughts turn toward vacation. The 10 Most Expensive Colleges Monday April 7, 2014 Oh wait, he is?
A Passover Care Package. Blogging through the Fourth Dimension. Reflection – a critical step in learning | Wisdom Begins with Wonder. November 11, 2010 | habits of mind, inquiry, learning | Tagged habits of mind, inquiry, metacognition, reflection I have a new transfer student in my chemistry class. Yesterday, I overheard her talking to her classmates about her previous science class. She said something along the lines of, “we did a lot of experiments where we had to design our own experiment and write lab reports about it. We didn’t really learn anything, though.”
Hearing this, I had a couple of thoughts: The first was that this teacher may have had his or her students doing experiments for the sake of learning “THE Scientific Method.” The second was that, even if they were doing experiments based around rigorous content, they probably were missing out of the key step of reflection! Reflection is a critical step in the learning process. I like to have my students reflect on a variety of things at the end of a project or inquiry experience.
What did you learn about content? Why is reflection so important? A Taxonomy of Reflection: Critical Thinking For Students, Teachers, and Principals (Part I) My approach to staff development (and teaching) borrows from the thinking of Donald Finkel who believed that teaching should be thought of as "providing experience, provoking reflection. " He goes on to write, ... to reflectively experience is to make connections within the details of the work of the problem, to see it through the lens of abstraction or theory, to generate one's own questions about it, to take more active and conscious control over understanding. ~ From Teaching With Your Mouth Shut Over the last few years I've led many teachers and administrators on classroom walkthroughs designed to foster a collegial conversation about teaching and learning.
The walkthroughs served as roving Socratic seminars and a catalyst for reflection. But reflection can be a challenging endeavor. It's not something that's fostered in school - typically someone else tells you how you're doing! 1. See my Prezi tour of the Taxonomy A Taxonomy of Lower to Higher Order Reflection. OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES. Who We Are. Aaron Eyler Aaron Eyler is a high school history teacher in central New Jersey with a passion for education as well as developing innovative strategies. An avid reader, he spends much of his time muddling through articles, books, and the like on a quest to improve his ability to think critically about education and the school’s role in society. He has a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration & Leadership.
He is also the writer of the blog “Synthesizing Education”. Aaron can be reached at eyler.aaron@gmail.com or on Twitter via @aaron_eyler. Adam Burk Adam can only be defined as one thing for sure, a human being. While his activities are many–philosopher, wilderness guide, teacher, social worker, gardener, husband, dog whisperer, naturalist, cook, jewelry maker, lover, healer, writer, community activist, change agent, and more–he is guided by the simple principle to do good in the service of others.
Casey Caronna My name is Casey K Caronna. Joe Bower. 21st Century Collaborative. David Wees's blog | 21st Century Educator. Digital Directions. The Leadership and Learning Blog | The Leadership and Learning Center. Free, interactive, assembly-style presentations for high schools and colleges - For Educators - Making It Count Programs. Surviving College Life. EdBlog: Blog of the Week – How You Can Help Support a Blogger Each Week | The Next Step.
Jane's Pick of the Day. Calling all bloggers! – Leadership Day 2010. Since the past three have been so successful,* I am putting out a call for people to participate in Leadership Day 2010. As I said three years ago: Many of our school leaders (principals, superintendents, central office administrators) need help when it comes to digital technologies. A lot of help, to be honest. How to participate On Friday, July 30, 2010, blog about whatever you like related to effective school technology leadership: successes, challenges, reflections, needs, wants, etc. Some prompts to spark your thinking What do effective K-12 technology leaders do? Here are the ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT posts from the past three years A badge for your blog or web site I hope you will join us for this important day because, I promise you, if the leaders don’t get it, it isn’t going to happen.
Checklist * Footnote. About. My name is George Couros, and I am currently a Division Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning with Parkland School Division, located in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada. The schools are from ages K-12, and I love working with kids of all ages. I am passionate about distributed leadership within my division, and believe that creating a collaborative environment with all stakeholders, will help to ensure that we meet the best needs of all children.
Personally, I am someone who is passionate about all of the things that I do. I believe that we must continuously “sharpen the saw” by taking part in other pursuits. I love running and sports, and am a HUGE fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. Music is also a passion of mine. I am originally from the small town of Humboldt, Saskatchewan and my parents are originally immigrants from Greece.
My family and inspiration. Learning in the Corporate Sector. The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else) Study Hacks. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World The ability to focus without distraction is becoming increasingly valuable. Here’s how to hone this skill.
More about this book » So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love “Follow your passion” is bad advice. More about this book » How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out) Learn the secrets of relaxed superstars—students who get into top colleges without hating their high school lives. More about this book » How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less Revealed for the first time: The proven study techniques used by real straight-A students.
More about this book » How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country’s Top Students More about this book » Finding Ways for All Kids to Flourish. Education Innovating. Education. UniversityBlog. Scott Young. ScienceBlogs - Education. College Degree. Associates Degree. March 8th, 2011 The following programs are the most notorious repeat offenders, the blatant cheaters who always seem to have NCAA investigators breathing down their necks Read More » February 21st, 2011 Anyone who has spent significant time in the real world understands that one misstep can ruin a promising or even established career. Read More » February 20th, 2011 Whether or not you have a child in grades K-12, teacher cuts affect everyone in one way or another.
Read More » February 15th, 2011 If you’re an aspiring U.S. president, you may need to be a little more selective than others when choosing your college. Read More » February 3rd, 2011 Many Westerners, if not most of them, greeted the news of the current Egyptian protests with a mixture of sympathy and confusion. Read More » February 1st, 2011 It’s never too early in the year to start thinking about Spring Break. Read More » January 30th, 2011 Read More » January 28th, 2011 Read More » January 27th, 2011 Read More » January 26th, 2011. Learning Master. As Twitter has made its impression on every sphere of life and professionals from every sphere of life are Tweeting on it. Field of education and especially, teachers, are one of the largest community using it intensively. Below are some famous tools which teacher can use for their benefit while on Twitter: TweetDeck This is on one of the most popular Twitter applications that can be used by anyone irrespective of their profession and area of working.
However, for teachers it plays significant role to remain connected with students for communication and teaching purposes. It helps one to be connected across Twitter, Facebook and other utilities. It is an Adobe Air Desktop application.Twit Tangle This tool is very helpful for teachers as they can rate their students as well as their friends and associates on basis of merit and put some of the best on the top to have quick and easy communication with the selected list.
Shelly Terrell (Teacher Reboot Camp) Psych Files. Tom's Blog. Steven Anderson (Web 2.0) Patricia Donaghy. InfoSavvy Group. Brainstretcher. Qrious. Edurati Review. Bob Sullo (internalmotivation) Bill Klemm. About Graduation. Mission to Learn. Pass 1st Time. Jay Mathews (Washington Post) Study-Skills. Learning Fundamentals (Jane Genovese) Anthony Cody. By Anthony Cody April 28, 2010 at 10:59 AM We are getting ready for our talk with Arne Duncan, and the members of Teachers' Letters to Obama are actively engaged in generating questions and thoughts to share with him. We have been discussing the key issues, and this weekend we asked members for their thoughts on what they would like to say to the Secretary of Education. More than 200 have responded thus far. Here is what is on their minds: If you continue to insist that pay and job retention should be tied to teacher performance, how do you intend to operationally define "effective teaching"?
How will you ... By Anthony Cody April 24, 2010 at 1:21 PM We have a bad economy, we are told, as if this is like a storm passing over, a series of events beyond human control -- perhaps even our humble comprehension. By Anthony Cody April 23, 2010 at 9:24 AM "I want to hear some discussion in which we speculate how public education may be, indeed, traumatizing our children.
" Psychology Today. Kevin Washburn. You blog. 8 Engaging Videos Advocating Better Integration of Technology in. These inspiring, insightful videos make the case for stepping up the integration of technology in today’s classrooms As an advocate of the use of Internet technologies in education, my fundamental goal is to inspire instructors and other members of the educational community to embrace the use of these technologies in today’s educational process.
I’ve attempted to make the case myself in a couple previous blog posts, such as the popular 5 Reasons Why Educators Need To Embrace Internet Technologies and 10 Internet technologies that educators should be informed about. Of course, many others have made the case as well (and generally done so in a more captivating manner) as the videos below will attest. Anyone who cares about this topic will be moved by some of these videos, and anyone who hasn’t been sold yet owes it to themselves (and the students they help to educate) to view at least a few of these, and be inspired to embrace today’s technologies in (and out of) the classroom. How My Parents Shaped My Teaching. One would assume that I developed my philosophy of education based upon my own experiences as a student. Or perhaps I synethesized the philosophical books I read in college (one part Aristotle, another part Mills, add some Wittgenstein) or maybe it had to do with the influence of my mentor, Brad.
Perhaps all of that is true. However, I am realizing that my philosophy of education began much sooner. On so many levels, it is a synthesis of what my own parents believe. As a student, my dad was intelligent, but not necessarily a scholar. My dad was satisfied as long as we worked hard. From my dad, I retain the belief that learning can sometimes be boring. My mom would take us on academic vacations. From a young age, she instilled in us the love of reading. My mom used to tell me that she hoped I would be a "healthy, productive, moral, contributing member of society. " From her, I learned to pursue learning with passion and almost reckless abandon. Blog | Online Colleges.